NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A moving memoir about the legendary author’s relationship with her own mother.Emma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf Book Club Pick!The story of Maya Angelou’s extraordinary life has been chronicled in her multiple bestselling autobiographies. But now, at last, the legendary author shares the deepest personal story of her life: her relationship with her mother. For the first … her relationship with her mother.
For the first time, Angelou reveals the triumphs and struggles of being the daughter of Vivian Baxter, an indomitable spirit whose petite size belied her larger-than-life presence—a presence absent during much of Angelou’s early life. When her marriage began to crumble, Vivian famously sent three-year-old Maya and her older brother away from their California home to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. The subsequent feelings of abandonment stayed with Angelou for years, but their reunion, a decade later, began a story that has never before been told. In Mom & Me & Mom, Angelou dramatizes her years reconciling with the mother she preferred to simply call “Lady,” revealing the profound moments that shifted the balance of love and respect between them.
Delving into one of her life’s most rich, rewarding, and fraught relationships, Mom & Me & Mom explores the healing and love that evolved between the two women over the course of their lives, the love that fostered Maya Angelou’s rise from immeasurable depths to reach impossible heights.
Praise for Mom & Me & Mom
“Mom & Me & Mom is delivered with Angelou’s trademark good humor and fierce optimism. If any resentments linger between these lines, if lives are partially revealed without all the bitter details exposed, well, that is part of Angelou’s forgiving design. As an account of reconciliation, this little book is just revealing enough, and pretty irresistible.”—The Washington Post
“Moving . . . a remarkable portrait of two courageous souls.”—People
“[The] latest, and most potent, of her serial autobiographies . . . [a] tough-minded, tenderhearted addition to Angelou’s spectacular canon.”—Elle
“Mesmerizing . . . Angelou has a way with words that can still dazzle us, and with her mother as a subject, Angelou has a near-perfect muse and mystery woman.”—Essence
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I really enjoy reading Maya Angelou’s work. I see it as a privilege to have been introduced to her mother and the get s glimpse at their relationship through reading Mom &Me & Mom. As usual, it was very well written.
Disjointed narrative, but I realize it was a memoir of love to her mother and Angelou was in her 80’s when she wrote it.
Regardless, I am always fascinated by Angelou’s life story.
As the name suggests, this installment of Ms Angelou’s autobiography focused on her relationship with her mother. Vivian Baxter’s father was a Trinidadian who migrated to the US by means of a banana boat.
It begins with Maya’s paternal grandmother taking both the author and her brother as teenagers to live with their mother since she (Vivian) did not think she would have been a fit mother earlier.
A true story of strong women.
The best thing about reading a Maya Angelou book is listening to her read it.
This is a great book, especially if you have read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
The mom in me was brought out when I read the book. I just wanted to read it over and over with my husband. I encourage you read the books and also to pay attention to the mum in you; and for some of you that do not have parents, I guarantee you that you will feel at home in this book. It teaches you about what it means to have the mum, but most importantly about what it is to be a mom in the kitchen with your children cooking for you. It is fun but can be very tiring. At some point I envied children that did not have one. I was so wrong because all I want to hear from my children is;I want mummy!
Couldn’t put it down
I’ve liked other books by Maya……this is not as good as I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings but it tells of her life after leaving her grandmother and finally meeting her mother. It continues through early adulthood. Interesting.
A true story of one of the wisest people in the United States. She had a very diverse and interesting life. Her portrayal of her Mom and brother were riveting.
Her life is an amazing story. Her writing is excellent. I want to read every word she has written. Do not skip this book. It is filled with emotion and wisdom. Read it!
Fulfilled all my expectations of the Author; I’ll look forward to reading more of her books
Interesting memoire
I really liked reading this and finding out more about Maya Angelou and her early life. I had no idea she had done all that she did, even into dancing. And still, she had some horrible things happen to her. In a way, it reminded me of the tone of To Kill a Mockingbird.
I had never read about Maya’s younger life and was amazed to learn about how strong her mother was – great book that you can’t put down!
A great memoir!
It is s delicate story of strong love between mother and daughter; it’s a unique story about how the strong love between mother& daughter helped each other through out their lives.
The book was okay. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and won’t be reading anymore. I was disappointed.
Maya Angelou presents her mother as a strong, powerful woman, who influenced her greatly in her later childhood years and throughout adulthood. This book provides a glimpse of how Maya became who she was.
I couldn’t put this down. What a loving and insightful memoir.